Gendry Was Different
by user2986
Summary: 'Help, I've lost myself again, but I remember you.' Jon returns to Winterfell with his forces and the Dragon Queen but all Arya sees are blue eyes that remind her of the Narrow Sea. A few reunions we've all waited so long for.


**A/N: I know I should be working on TATW but this wouldn't leave me as I, just like all of you lovely readers, am dying to see this reunion so long overdue. This is a one shot and that is why it is a crap load long. If you have read my other work you know I can get a bit wordy.**

**Enjoy and do not worry, TATW will continue to be updated at most within a couple weeks at a time.**

_Help, I've lost myself again_

_But I remember you._

_Six Feet Under - Billie Ellish_

**Gendry Was Different**

She had thought it was Jon that she had missed the most. She had thought that she had missed his laugh, his smile and his eyes, the same stormy shade as hers, more than anyone else's. Now, as her eyes connected with the bright blue eyes in the sea of soldiers, she realized she was wrong. _Those_ eyes, those bright electric eyes were the eyes that she had missed the most. Eyes she had thought had shut for the last time long ago. "Gendry…" She breathed, barely loud enough for her sister to hear her words and look to her quizzically.

A second later she had broken her sister's grasp on her arm and bolted, straight into the marching army, and away from the brother she thought she had missed more than any other person and her sisters concerned cries. It only took her a moment to reach the boy she had thought dead for so long. "Gendry!" she called with more emotion than she remembered having in a very long time, her voice carrying over the roar of the soldiers. Men moved out of her way, parting as she ran through them, straight to the giant man with a war hammer strapped to his back. Eyes all around then watched the small specticle, watching what appeared to be lovers greeting after being separated by war. The soldiers smiled and moved on, letting the two be.

He looked to the young woman as she approached and recognition washed over him as he took in the short brown waves, the men's clothing and the most beautiful grey eyes he had ever known. He met her then, opening his arms as she threw herself into them. With the actual weight of her in his arms his knees buckled, not from strain but instead in disbelief. "You're alive…." He whispered, clutching her tightly to his broad chest. He could feel his cheeks were wet, he hadn't realized he had started crying. He pulled back and looked up at her face, his hand flying to her cheek. "It's really you."

She looked beautiful. He knew she would be after she had grown even when he was a silly, stupid, bullheaded bastard boy. She still dressed in men's clothes and still held her sword at her side. Where had she gotten Needle back? Her eyes shone with emotion and a small smile was on her face, though it looked strained, like she wasn't used to smiling anymore. She had always been such serious child.

"You're alive... I thought that red demon…" She started and he hushed her again, not wanting to thing about the witch, and pulled her into another tight embrace. Even still on his knees, she was taller than him just barely as she stood on her two feet, and held him gently. Within another second she was pulling him up to his feet, and looking up at him properly. "You're a man now!" she laughed, pointing out the obvious.

He felt his face grow warm in spite of the winter winds blowing all around them. "Aye, and you a little lady." he said with a wolfish grin. She had grown, he had felt the curves of her body when he clung to her moments before, no longer the sickly thin little girl he had once known. His hands held hers, not willing to let go of her completely, afraid she may again disappear from his life again if he didn't hold on. "You must see your brother." he said finally, not knowing what else to say and not wanting to just sit and stare at her like a gawking fool.

"I want to see you." she heard herself say without hesitation. Where had that come from? Of course she wanted to see Jon, she had been excited and nervous about it over the last two moons. But then she had found Gendry and now… She worried he would disappear if she left him. "Come with me at least." she decided pulling on his hand.

Gendry nodded but was immediately concerned about confronting the King of the North hand in hand with his favorite sister. He had heard Jon speak of Arya a few times since meeting him and it had always been with a great deal of love and admiration. He would wonder why Gendry had never spoken of knowing Arya. He would want to know his intentions. Gendry didn't know his intentions, or why he had kept his past with Arya to himself. He should have told the King, should have told him that his sister had at least been safe for a time. Instead, he had stayed silent and listened to Jon's stories. Maybe it was because he felt ashamed that he had lost her all those years ago, that he had failed to protect her from not only herself as was usually the case, but from the Hound as well? Ashamed he hadn't listened to her about the sons of whores who not hours later turned around and sold him? He thought of that day, the day he had told her he would remain with the Brothers, and it made his stomach lurch with self loathing.

"Arya, I'm so sor-" he started, not looking her in the eye, but she would not let him finish his words.

"Stop it. We were children, stupid. You were stolen away by that evil harpy. And I doubt you would have stayed with the Brothers when it came time for me to leave." she said, her voice raspy and low, with another small smile. Her voice was different but underneath the huskiness he had to admit was attractive, he could hear a few squeaks from her younger self. She was so reserved compared to the fiery fierce girl he had known all those years ago. That girl would have hit him and demanded he beg her forgiveness or she would wallop him again, but this girl was calm. _Calm as still water_. The thought flashed through his mind.

He didn't know what else he could say so instead he followed her, just as he had before. She had always been very good at telling him what to do and he would always follow without fuss (most of the time). He tried to calm his nerves about seeing Jon while Arya still held his hand so tightly. Her grip was hard compared to his, he was afraid he may crush her tiny hand in his if he was not careful, though he knew it would not be that way based on the callouses that lined her palm. She had not gotten much taller at all and was still so small. A petite thing with a small sword on her hip. "You got Needle back." It wasn't a question but it almost sounded like one, even to his own ears.

"I said I would didn't I?" was all she said in that same husky tone as they made the final steps toward the King and the rest of the royal family, her family.

A tall and beautiful red haired woman saw them first as they pushed their way through the crowd of soldiers and her expression went from cross to confused as she took in the joined hands of the young man and woman. "Arya, why did you not wait for Jon and the Queen? Who is your friend?" Lady Sansa asked, her tone holding authority without being commanding. Her cold blue eyes examined Gendry, taking him in, gauging what kind of threat he was. She looked wary and almost frightened of such a large man near her younger sister.

Arya didn't have a chance to respond though as she was snatched up by Jon, pulling her hand free of Gendry's warm grasp. He spun her around a few times, but her eyes never left Gendry from over the King's shoulder. "Arya! Thank the Gods! I thought you lost so long ago…." His grip made Gendry's look gentle as he held onto the small girl as if she held all the answers to life itself. She hugged him back, her grip tight but not as it had been with Gendry the smith noticed, and her eyes never left _him_.

Arya almost felt guilty in her brothers embrace. She had missed Jon so much that it had been painful at times but when she had lost Gendry the first time, when she had thought him dead, a little piece of her had died, just as part of that something had died with her father and mother and brothers. She had known Jon would live, would survive. She had never even questioned it. They were the same, she and he. She had been more surprised to see that Sansa had survived the harsh environment that it seemed to be in King's Landing. But Gendry had been somehow brought back to her and she needed to be near him, to hold onto part of him, to keep him near her.

Jon pulled back suddenly and looked at the young woman in his arms. "You have grown so beautiful. No more Arya Horseface." His gloved hand moved to her cheek and she tried not to flinch at the contact. Jon noticed and looked a little more pensive than he already did naturally. She hadn't meant to pull away. So many years on her own had made her uncomfortable with touching. _Except with Gendry_…. She thought to herself, sparing one more glance at the smith before turning her attention to her brother. Was it because he was the last person she was close to before the Faceless Men? Was it because Gendry knew her as she was, a killer? She found her eyes had again strayed the the black haired man. "I can't tell you how I worried over you. I should have known you would survive. Nothing can stop little Arya Underfoot." This brought her attention back to her brother again and she found she didn't know what to say as he looked at her with so much love and understanding.

He smiled so brightly, his cheeks sore from strain and wet with tears he hadn't realized he was crying. She was here! She was alive and well, if not a bit small. Arya was significantly smaller than all of her siblings and it made Jon worried that it had been from years of starving. She had shied from his touch, when once he was her favorite person in the whole world. _His sister_. Be it fully in blood or not they were tied in spirit and he was gravely hurt by not only her skittish fear of his touch but also her lack of words. _What has she been through to make her this way? You know nothing Jon Snow._ A familiar voice that followed him everywhere said in the back of his mind. He glanced over to Sansa, seeking aid in this situation he didn't know how to handle but found that she was eyeing Gendry with a large amount of suspicion.

"Jon," Arya said, her voice quiet and raspy almost as if it had been permanently injured, so different from her younger self's voice he wouldn't have recognized it, brought his attention back to her. "I still have it." She hadn't known what to say and had felt suffocated by everyone around them, instinctually her hand had fallen to Needle, _Jon Snow's smile._ It had been the first thing that she had thought to say to him, and though it wasn't grand or poetic she knew he would appreciate it. He would understand what she meant. She unsheathed the blade and held it out to him.

Jon watched as his younger sister unsheathed the little sword he had given her so long ago and wondered how she had managed to hold onto the rapier through the seven years she had been lost to them all. He took the blade and looked down on it with fear in his heart. There were a few knicks in the blade and the handle was well worn. How many people had she had to kill with that blade? His heart broke for his baby sister and he let Needle fall to the snow and his face crumpled. He fell to his knees in front of her in much the same fashion Gendry had before and pulled her to him, relief overwhelming him. She could have been lost at any time but she hadn't and he was so thankful to whatever had saved her.

She let him hold onto her for a moment before she couldn't not keep her discomfort at the touch at bay any longer, moving her free hand to his shoulder and pulling away slightly so he had to look up at her. "I am alive Jon. I am here. And I want you to meet someone who helped me when I needed it most." She helped Jon to his feet as he looked at her, confused, not remembering Sansa mentioning a visitor with Arya. His confusion only grew when she walked over to Gendry and let go of his hand only to grab the smith's. "Jon this is Gendry."

Gendry didn't know what to do with himself. He knew Jon would be angry that he hadn't been forthcoming with the fact that he had known his sister. He hadn't told him or Ser Davos any of it. He hadn't thought to. He hadn't thought he would see her again. Even after speaking with the Hound beyond the Wall he hadn't enough heart left to hope she had survived. He hadn't known where she had been and he would have admitted to failing the King had he told him that he had lost his sister. Jon's stormy eyes were narrowed at Gendry or more pointedly, at his joined hand with his favorite sister. The smith swallowed hard and bowed a bit, not knowing what else to do.

"Perhaps we should retire to my solar for a more private reunion? Jon, why don't you and Arya head that way. Ser Davos and I will settle the soldiers and Lords and join you shortly." Sansa interrupted flawlessly, keeping a scene from happening in her courtyard. They were Starks not Baratheons or Lannisters who handle their personal matters in front of the people they were responsible to keep alive.

"I must wait for the Queen." Jon said swiftly at the same time Arya spoke.

"I won't leave Gendry." Arya started to object but a hand on her shoulder quieted her quickly. The smith had the hand she was not holding tightly in her own on her small shoulder, comfortingly. He looked at her with a kind and patient smile Sansa had seen on her father occasionally when he had been dealing with Arya. Jon let his teeth grind together.

"I will not disappear. I am alive and I am here. I need to get to work in the smithy. Go with your brother, we'll see eachother later I am sure Arya." He said with a smile that held more affection than Sansa had seen in years. Her sister bit her lip, obviously hesitant to leave the blacksmith and go with her once favorite brother. The smith noticed and tugged his hand free from hers before reaching out and ruffling her dark tresses. "I will find you again little wolf but now you need to go with your pack." He said playfully.

"You are my pack." Her sister said quickly and quietly but with a sternness none would wish to argue with. That single small sentence told both Sansa and Jon what they were dealing with. She would never let him go, no matter what. They needed to understand this smith and what he wanted with Sansa's young sister before things progressed further.

"I will show him to the forge sister, and see him taken care of. He will join us tonight at the feast. I will make sure he wants for nothing while you see to our brother." She then turned her blue eyes to her brother King and continued without missing a beat. "As for the Queen, it is my responsibility to receive the royal party as the Lady of Winterfell. I will see both her and Lord Tyrion to their rooms and make sure they are comfortable until dinner this evening," Sansa said in a motherly tone. She looked at Arya and Jon with a warmth that Gendry had not seen in those icy eyes and was even more apprehensive of the woman standing before him.

Gendry nodded again and the grey eyed girl who watched warily all around, as if anticipating something to happen to tear them all apart again. She slowly let her brother pull her away and lead her to Sansa's solar where they could greet each other properly.

Gendry watched her as she was lead away by the King in the North, every few steps she would look over her shoulder at him and he would smile reassuringly, trying to give her strength that he didn't feel at that moment, knowing that he was now at the mercy of Arya's very suspicious sister and Ser Davos Seaworth. "Gendry was it?" the Lady to right of him slightly said in an almost musical tone.

He turned immediately and bowed deeply to the Lady of Winterfell. If there was anything that he remembered from his travels with Arya it was when she spoke of her family and that included the prim and proper Lady Sansa Stark. Arya had described her as everything a proper Lady was, enjoying needle work and fawning over knights, a naive little thing who saw the world through rose colored glasses. The woman standing before him seemed to be anything but naive as she regarded him in a cold and distant manner. He had known the Lady's sister and she was all fire and passion but this woman was her complete opposite and frigid as the environment around them. Her eyes were like ice and almost glowed with the white of the snow, reflecting all the evil things she suspected him of, her skin like a cherub with cold red cheeks. She was tall, reaching his chin where her sister fell to his chest. She was lovely in all the ways ladies should be but did not seem vain as Arya had described, appearing almost pious to Gendry with her simple yet remarkable hair, clean face and modest black gown and cloak.

"Lady Sansa, it is honestly a pleasure. Arya has told me much of you." Gendry said, not knowing what else to say.

"That is interesting Ser, as my sister has told me nothing of you." She said her tone holding authority and confidence built from leading men for sometime. She was sure of herself here while he was at a loss and at her mercy.

"I'm no Ser and I imagine she thought me dead for sometime now m'Lady." he said, keeping his eyes on hers, not looking down as he once would have, no longer cowering. He knew where he came from and he knew he need not cower to any nobel. He had chosen Jon just as the North had chosen him. It was at that time Ser Davos approached and came beside the Lady who had not taken her eyes from his face.

"Lady Sansa, I see you have met Gendry. I take it that our King has locked himself away with the younger Lady?" Davos asked good naturedly though his expression remained the serious face he always seemed to wear.

"You also know Gendry then, Ser Davos? It seems Lady Arya is also familiar with him." There was accusation in her tone but he didn't know what she was accusing him of. It was subtle and it could be said that he was merely reading into it. Either way Gendry began to feel even more uncomfortable as Ser Davos turned to him with eyes wide. He had already nearly killed the man with a heart attack when he had come straight out with being King Robert's bastard son to Jon. Now he had not told anyone that he had been very close to the longest lost Stark.

"Is that so Gendry? How did you come to know Arya when no one has seen her since-" Ser Davos wasn't able to finish though as Sansa had stepped forward and stood directly before him now.

"Since the arrest of our father. Yes, I am quite curious as well. Come. I told Arya I would see you taken care of and I shall do just that. But, you will also explain yourself and how you know my sweet sister." Gendry tried not to snort at the adjective that Sansa had used to describe Arya as she was anything but sweet if he remembered correctly. Sansa took note, keeping tabs on every tell she found. She saw him swallow down harder than one would with a scratched throat, she saw as his eyes darted between herself and the Hand, she watched as his right hand flexed and relax at his side, indicating his discomfort. She needed to know what he knew of her sister, what had happened to her, his role, what he wanted and why he was here. To do that she had to watch and see _everything_ about this seemingly simple man. She would protect her sister where her mother had failed them both. Now that Arya was back Sansa would do what she should have done so long ago, when they were young and still _good_, she would protect her, even if Arya didn't think she needed it.

"Now follow me. You should bathe before the feast tonight, you as well Ser Davos. Winterfell has the warmest water and it is quite relaxing after such a long journey from the South." Sansa then said, putting on her mask of the perfect hostess and Lady. Gendry swallowed as he watched her change into another person before him, as she welcomed the other soldiers to her home and thanking them for coming to the aid of both the North and the united Seven Kingdoms. She appeared warm and truly thankful as she told them that there would be a feast to welcome them to Winterfell and into her care. She was respectful but obviously not intimidated by the beautiful Dragon Queen and Lord Tyrion seemed completely taken with Lady Sansa.

All the time she watched each person she spoke with, noticed things that they did and almost seemed able to read their minds and anticipate their desires.

She was just as deadly as her younger sister Gendry realized at that moment just in a different way. _Two sides of the same coin_.

xoxoxo

Jon pulled Arya along to Sansa's solar where they found she had a plate of bread and cheese and dried meets waiting for them along with some wine. Ever the gracious and thoughtful hostess, even to her family. It is as if she was attempting to baby her remaining siblings. As soon as the door shut Jon turned to look at Arya. They hadn't spoken since they had been excused from the courtyard and the tension was heavy but he couldn't be more happy. His favorite sister was here and she was alive and seemingly well. She hadn't been alone for at least some of that time it seemed. He pushed the thought of Gendry away, wanting first to fully greet his dearest sister once more.

She was short, even for her age of seven and ten, and very short compared to her older sister who was even taller than Jon himself. She was still so small and still wore men's clothes. A jerkin and breeches and a fighters cloak, with one arm free of material, her sword arm. She wore a dagger on her belt as well and well worn riding boots. Her face had changed, she had grown into her features and no longer looked horse like. Instead her features were close to Sansa's, long and elegant. But where Sansa had thin brows and a small, sweet mouth, Arya had fierce brows and full lips. Her hair was shorter than he remembered and pulled away from her clean face, still speckled with freckles and tan from the sun. Her eyes were still the same eyes he remembered, but darker, full of something he didn't want to believe could be inside her.

"Where have you been Arya? Where did you go?" He asked finally after staring at her for what seemed like forever. He sounded like a lost child looking to their mother for answers and he hated himself for it.

"No where." Arya answered automatically. He didn't understand. He understood so little these days and this reunion was not going at all like he had expected or hoped. He had imagined her as she had been, a vibrant and wild little girl with torn skirts and dirt on her face. She was the same but she was different. He didn't know her anymore, he didn't know who she had become. Sansa was like another person entirely from the entitled little dreamer he had known in their youth, now being the kind, and strong leader that she was. Who had Arya become?

"Are you well?" She was standing there, silently regarding him and he didn't know what else to say. The sister he knew before would never quit talking if given the opportunity. He had expected her to go on and on about all of her adventures, galavanting around the Seven Kingdoms on the run from the crown.

"I am." She said in a short reply again. She wasn't trying to be difficult but she didn't know what to say. She struggled speaking with people, anyone, who had known her before the Faceless Men had her empty herself of all that was Arya Stark. She didn't know how to act or what to do. She didn't know what _she _would have done. She didn't know how to be herself with Jon, or Sansa or even Bran. She didn't know what to do or say so she did as her training had taught her, she did nothing and said no more than needed. _But I was Arya with Gendry..._

"Will you sit with me?" Jon asked, motioning toward the comfortable chairs by the fire and the food spread Sansa had so thoughtfully planned. Jon knew she was excited for him to be reunited with Arya as she understood how close the two had been in childhood. She did what she could to make an awkward situation comfortable.

Arya did as Jon asked and moved to sit in one of the chairs. She did not eat nor did she drink of her wine but instead sat and stared at the fire with a distant, far off look that Jon did not recognize on her features though he had seen it many a time on them more seasoned members of the Night's Watch, the Rangers. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see you alive Arya."

Arya turned to her brother then and smiled a very small smile, but even that looked difficult for her to manage.

"I missed you too, Jon." she said simply. Jon thought that she was going to continue to be silent, giving nothing away but then she surprised him as she continued, eyes still dark but face like a still lake, "I thought of you when things were unbearable and I thought I could take no more. When I held Needle, I saw your smile…"

Jon felt tears come to his eyes again as her words slipped quietly past her lips. "There was not a day I didn't think of you." his voice was thick with emotion. "I wished I hadn't went, left for the Wall, that I had remained, maybe…"

Arya stopped him before he could finish. "All is destiney dear brother. It is as it is because it is. There is no going back, and therefore there is no point in dwelling on what we should have or could have done. We should only ever dwell on what we will do about the things that have been done to us." Her voice was light but held more metal than he thought warranted. She was similar in her way of speaking to Lady Lyanna it seemed.

He could understand not wanting to dwell on the should haves and would haves so instead he told her about his time at the Wall and beyond. She never answered any of his questions so instead he filled the void of silence that would sit between them. He told her of everything that had happened to him in those years, even told her of Ygritte and his betrayal to the woman he had loved. He told Arya of her death and all of the deaths there after, including his own. She remained quiet, asking very few questions through the entire afternoon together.

He did not push her to tell him of what she had been through, as he was afraid of what he might hear but also he didn't want to frighten her away. She could disappear again if she felt threatened and he didn't want to give her cause to flee. But there was one question that he had to ask, and he needed her to answer fully. "How is it that you know my smith Gendry?" he asked finally after hours on end of speaking to the girl who seemed to have become silent in her years away. He had never thought he would see the day that Arya Stark learned to mind her tongue.

A small smile spread onto her pretty features then. Her face softened slightly, enough for him to notice after hours of watching her. "Gendry was with me when everything started. He and I escaped King's Landing together after father was beheaded." He flinched, sick at the idea that she, like Sansa, had seen it all at the execution of their dearly loved father. "He and I traveled with a Night's Watch recruiter named Yoren and the recruits for months on end. I don't know how long we were with him before the gold cloaks came. I lost count of the days."

"You were with Yoren?" Jon asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "He saw me in the crowd at the execution and he took me and chopped off all my hair and called me a boy. I was a boy from that day on, and was headed to the Wall to swear into the Night's Watch. He was going to take me to Winterfell for father."

"He never made it back." Jon said as he watched his sister as her features danced in the light of the fire. The room was dark as the shades were drawn, Sansa's doing again, to make the room feel more private.

"I imagine not. He was killed by Gold Cloaks and Lannister men defending Gendry and me." Her voice didn't waiver at the mention of death. She took her first sip of wine then and settled back in her chair. She bit her lip and Jon knew she was considering something. "Gendry is the reason I am alive I believe, Jon. He will be treated with the utmost respect and will have whatever he may need or desire."

Jon tensed at the tone she had when speaking of Gendry. She was possessive of him. "He has been good and has his place here at Winterfell and my thanks for caring for my sister when I was not there to." He said it more to appease her rather than with hard conviction. Yes, he was a good worker and he had his thanks for protecting Arya, but why hide that he had known her?

She looked into his eyes, looking for any lies there. "There is something I need to speak with you on Jon and you will be honest with me. Agreed?" Her grip tightened on the wine cup slightly.

Jon furrowed his brow and agreed willingly with her request as she had asked so little of him. "What is it Arya?"

"I am here for now, yes, but I have some things that I must do before I will be able to rest. I will have to leave again, soon. I will remain to help against the Night King and to aid in saving Winterfell but I must finish my mission in vengeance for what has been done to our family." Arya was stern but controlled. She took a breath and continued, "You must let me go when I deem it time to finish what that bitch lion began all those years ago Jon." Her expression was fierce and her voice though quiet, held promise and vindication.

He couldn't say he was truly surprised when he heard her request. She wanted to finish things with Cersei herself. She wanted to be the one to end the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms existence. He saw the darkness building in her eyes again and he felt his heart clench. What had become of his sweet little sister that she was so hardened and blood thirsty? Had it just been the death of their father or had something happened after she was lost to the world?

"What happened to you Arya?"

xoxoxo

Gendry had been taken to a bath and then to a room that was as grand as the one the Red Woman had once taken him to and immediately he felt on edge. His only other experience in this type of environment he had been left wanting and leeched for his blood. He had been given a simple pair of breeches of quality leather and a soft, simple tunic. A pitcher of wine and one of water had been left for him and he chose the water. Gendry took in the decour and decided the room was much finer than the room he had been taken to in Dragon Stone just in a different way. Where that room had been extravagant in it's ornate tapestries and gold this room was geared more toward comfort, with great furs on not only the beds but the floors as well, to fight against the frigid stones. The walls were covered in tapestries but each of these seemed to tell a story and many involved wolves and grave faced dark haired characters with grey eyes.

He only had a few moments to himself before the door opened and in walked Lady Sansa of Winterfell. She strolled over to him at her leisure, and he stumbled slightly in surprise at her entrance. "M'Lady." he said as he bowed deeply to the Lady of the castle he was standing in.

"I take it your bath was acceptable?" her tone was somewhat clipped but could not outrightly be considered rude. She looked him up and down as if making sure that he was presentable. Gendry imagined she was satisfied with what she saw because she nodded and went to pouring herself a cup of wine as she waited for his reply.

"I did. Thank you very much Lady Sansa." he said automatically. The bath had indeed been pleasant and incredibly warm but he couldn't let himself relax surrounded by such luxury.

He watched as she took a sip from her glass and then smiled a small, polite smile she gestured to the chairs near the fireplace in the large room. He followed her lead and went to the chairs and when she sat down he followed.

"A servant is bringing some clean clothes for you for the feast this evening. Arya would like for you to eat with us at the high table and Jon has agreed." She let silence fill the air again for a moment, controlling the flow of the conversation in a power play the way Lord Baelish and Cersei had taught her. She needed this man uncomfortable. If he was nervous he was more likely to make a mistake. It was obvious that the grandeur of the room made him anxious but she needed him sweating. "I have some questions for you Gendry and I will need you to be honest with me. If you are honest no harm will befall you. Is this understood?" She kept her tone light, trying to simply sound matter of fact rather than threatening.

Gendry felt his heart jump into his throat. He tried to swallow it down and answered hoarsely, "Aye, I will be honest m'Lady." He hadn't thought after one time seeing him with her sister that she would react in this way but then again he didn't know what either of the Starks had been through entirely, he doubted anyone did.

Sansa straighten a wrinkle in her gown and then turned her attention back the the large man before her. He was a brute, close to the size of the Hound she imagined and much younger. He couldn't be older than Jon. He had the darkest of black hair and eyes so blue they reminded her of sapphires. _Pretty thing…. The pretty ones are always trouble. _"How do you know my sister Gendry?" her voice remained nonchalant but her eyes told him that he should tread carefully.

Gendry took a breath. _She is just worried for her sister_. He told himself, attempting to reign in his somewhat justified fear of beautiful red haired women taking him to private rooms. "Your sister and I escaped King's Landing together after she escaped the castle. I was being shipped to the Wall by my master and Arya was as well, disguised as a boy."

Sansa rolled her eyes and allowed a small chuckle fall past her lips. "Of course she did." Sansa said almost to herself as she remembered how her sister had looked back in that time. She had been even smaller and her features were still overly elongated for her small stature, knobby knees and elbows. She had always been dirty and wearing Bran and Jon's old clothes. She gave him and pointed look and he continued in his explanation.

"We traveled together for years and after a while I was taken away, sold, right before we made it to your family at the Twins." He kept his story short, not wanting to tell Sansa something that Arya did not wish him to. She was a private person and always had been and he wasn't sure if the sisters were truly close or just devoted to their familia bonds. "That was four years ago m'Lady."

He was looking at her directly in the eyes, opening his soul to her. She found no lie in his words but he also was vague meaning that there were things he would rather her not know. "If you were headed to the Wall why would she not have gone to Jon?" Sansa questioned seriously.

Gendry shook his head. "I cannot tell you your sisters story m'Lady, please forgive me. I understand your hesitation in welcoming an outsider who your sister knows-"

"And wants to be near more than the favorite brother she has not seen since she was only a child." Sansa interrupted, not wanting to hear his excuses. " I need to be sure of my sister and my family's safety."

It was then that Gendry saw an expression cross the placid face of the Northern Lady that told him she was indeed Arya's sister. A ferocious and maternal expression that promised pain to anyone who harmed what she held dear. He smiled then and tried to open his expression to her as much as possible, hoping she could see, feel his sincerity as he said, "I will never hurt your sister or your family. I have sworn myself to the King in the North and I swore myself to your younger sister farther back still. I will not share her secrets, as I will do everything in my power to always guard all of her and not fail as I did in the past."

Sansa watched the man as he poured himself into his words. His eyes, electric and burning with a fire that she had seen once before, from another pair of blue eyes but those had been holding that fire for her. She leaned back in her seat and took another sip of her wine, silently watching him. It was only a moment longer that the two sat there in silence, trying to understand each other and their motives. Finally Sansa spoke and when she did she caused Gendry to choke on the air he was breathing in. "You love her then."

xoxox

**A/N: I couldn't get this out of my head. I had to post it. I'm not sure if I will continue but I might. My main focus is still TAtW. I am just so anxious for the next season that my mind is running rampant. :)**

**Please let me know what you think. I love hearing your thoughts.**


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